The Billionaire's Heart

by Christina Tetreault

  Rather than close his eyes, he stared into the darkness as the memory of Leah’s face at dinner surfaced. No question about it, she’d been annoyed when the waitress delivered their appetizer and when she brought over their entrées. As far as he could tell, her annoyance hadn’t popped up at any other time, suggesting there was a correlation between it and the waitress. Had the clear invitations she’d been sending his way been the cause of Leah’s annoyance? Perhaps jealousy on Leah’s part?

  Hell, he’d experienced the green-eyed monster more than once when they’d been together and a guy hit on her. At least in Leah’s case, she had nothing to be jealous about. She had his undivided attention.

  Gavin pushed the memory aside and started on a mental list of everything he needed to accomplish between tomorrow and Saturday morning. He was almost done when the sound of an old-fashioned phone ringing interrupted him. Only a handful of people called him this late, including his twin sister, Vivian.

  A quick look at the cell phone’s screen confirmed the call was from her.

  “First tell me you’re somewhere besides the office,” Vivian said after he answered the phone.

  “Don’t worry, Viv, I’m home.” On occasion his twin sister was worse than their mom when it came to nagging him about how much time he spent at the office.

  “Doing something besides work, I hope.”

  Reaching over, he switched on the bedside lamp and moved into a sitting position. “Trying to get some sleep, Mother.” Whenever she started on him, he called her mother in an attempt to annoy her. It never failed.

  “Yeah, I guess it is a little late out there,” she admitted, suggesting she’d again failed to take into account the three-hour time difference between New York and California before she called him. “Sorry if I woke you.”

  “You didn’t. So what’s up?”

  “Tomorrow I’m headed to Nantucket for the holiday weekend. Come and stay with me. We haven’t spent time together in months.”

  Unlike him and Harry, Vivian had rejected a position at Culloden after college, opting to make her own way in the world. For the past few years, she’d been living and working in California. Despite their regular phone conversations, they hadn’t spent any time together since St. Patrick’s Day. He’d been in San Francisco in March for business and he’d stayed with her instead of at a hotel. If he didn’t already have plans, he’d take her up on the offer and say to hell with work.

  “Sorry, I can’t. I’ve got plans for the Fourth.”

  “With who?” she asked, sounding suspicious. “Isn’t Erin in Florida with her mom?”

  Vivian made it sound like he didn’t spend time with anyone except his daughter. While he didn’t go out much, he was hardly a recluse.

  “Is Harry throwing a party?” she inquired. Considering how often Harry liked to throw parties, it was a logical question.

  “Yes, Erin is in Florida with Amber, and as far as I know Harry isn’t throwing a party. But if he is, he didn’t invite me.” Even if he had, Gavin wouldn’t attend. Harry’s idea of a fun party and his were worlds apart.

  “Spending the day in your office doesn’t constitute plans, baby brother.” All of ten minutes separated them, but Vivian still loved to tease him that technically he was younger than her. “Meet me on Nantucket. It’ll be fun. Willow and her husband will be there. Brandy is coming too. And Parker and his fiancée are going to try to make it.”

  Willow and her younger sister Brandy had been friends with Vivian since college. He’d spent more than one weekend with them at his sister’s house on Nantucket. Before Willow met and married Levi Jennings, Vivian had hoped something would develop between them. Although he liked Willow, he’d never been attracted to her. Since Willow’s wedding last fall, Vivian had set her hopes on him and Brandy hitting it off. He didn’t understand why Vivian was so dead-set on setting him up with her friends, but much like with Willow, he liked Brandy, but she wasn’t his type.

  “My day doesn’t include work or the office,” Gavin assured her. “Leah invited me to a party at her parents’ house, so I’m heading to Newport. But thanks for the invite.”

  “Imaginary friends don’t count,” she tossed back jokingly.

  “You’re hilarious. Have you ever considered doing a stand-up comedy act?”

  “Can you blame me for doubting you?” Vivian asked. “Not once during any of our recent conversations have you mentioned a girlfriend, and now suddenly you’re going to a party at her parents’ house.”

  You got me there.

  He hadn’t said anything about the friendship developing between him and Leah. Actually, he hadn’t even mentioned her name during their conversations. Instead he’d focused on what was going on in Vivian’s life and what his daughter was up to, because although his sister lived across the country, she adored her niece.

  “Do I know this mystery woman?” Vivian didn’t like to be left in the dark no matter the subject matter, but especially when it came to his romantic life.

  “Yeah, you met Leah the night you stopped by.” Back in February his sister had been in the city to see a show and popped in for a couple hours. Both Harry and Leah had been at the condo.

  “Leah as in Leah Sherbrooke? Harry’s girlfriend?”

  Harry and Vivian had never been close, and it wasn’t unusual for them to go several months without speaking. He’d assumed she’d seen or heard that their brother was now involved with runway supermodel Milan Novak. Well, at least he had been as of last week. Keeping up with Harry’s love life required more effort than Gavin cared to exert.

  “She dumped him about three months ago after she caught him with one of my neighbors. I think Harry’s dating a model now,” he explained.

  Vivian snorted. “Big shocker there. Someday I hope he gets a taste of his own medicine.” His twin had always been vocal in her opinion of how Harry treated the women he dated. “When did you two get together?”

  “We’re friends, Viv. We go golfing together and occasionally share a meal.”

  “I have a lot of friends, both male and female. Except for Willow and Brandy, I wouldn’t invite any of them to a party at Mom’s house unless there was something between us.”

  Gavin noticed she didn’t mention parties at their dad’s house. For as long as he could remember, Vivian and Dad had butted heads. Now unless the event Dad and Kerry were throwing was for Piper, their much-younger half sister, Vivian rarely attended anything at their father’s house. That often included Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings.

  “And if you agreed to go, Gavin, she’s more than another golfing buddy to you,” she continued.

  Vivian knew he wasn’t one for big parties. Even in high school and college he’d preferred to hang around with a handful of close friends rather than a packed house full of people he didn’t know.

  “I’m taking it slow with her,” Gavin admitted. There wasn’t a person out there he trusted more than Vivian. Anything he said to her wouldn’t go any farther. “Considering how things ended between her and Harry, it seemed like a good idea.”

  “Probably not a bad plan,” she agreed. “How does she feel about you having a daughter?”

  On the two occasions Gavin had shared that he was a father, both women had told him they weren’t interested in sharing him with Erin. He couldn’t see Leah saying anything remotely close to that. She seemed to value family. Actually, the whole Sherbrooke family was rumored to be extremely close despite its size.

  “I haven’t told her about Erin yet.”

  A tsking sound came through the phone. “Before things get serious, I recommend telling her. I don’t know about Leah, but I’d hate to have a guy drop news like that on me after we’ve been together a few months. It would make me wonder what other secrets he’s keeping.”

  He planned to not only tell her but also hopefully introduce her to Erin when the time was right. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell her soon.”

  “Well, have fun. And if your plans change, my door
is open. No need to call. Just drop by.”

  Unless Leah called telling him she changed her mind, he wouldn’t let anything keep him from spending the holiday weekend with her.

  Chapter Two

  Leah dropped her overnight bag by the front door and headed for the kitchen. She’d called Gavin the night before and reminded him that if he didn’t show up at her house by nine this morning, she’d drive into the city and get him. She half expected him to insist he had too much work and just couldn’t take the weekend off. When he did, she had an argument all prepared.

  He surprised her though. Instead of backing out, he laughed and promised to be there on time—not that he’d ever been anything but on time when they got together, unlike her ex-boyfriend. Even if it meant the difference between life and death, Harry would be late.

  Before hanging up, she’d extended her mom’s invitation for Gavin to stay at the house rather than in a hotel. As she’d expected, Mom had been more than happy to add one more person to the guest list. In Mom’s opinion, when it came to a gathering like this, the more the merrier. Since so many of the people attending the party lived within driving distance, very few were spending the night. Despite the invite, Gavin again insisted he’d rather stay at a hotel. For reasons she couldn’t fully label, she’d been disappointed. Rather than dwell on it though, she focused on the fact he was coming and she’d be able to enjoy his company—something she found herself wanting to do more and more lately.

  She managed to finish half her iced tea, her favorite summer morning drink, before the console on the kitchen wall beeped, alerting her to someone at the door. She ignored the little jig her stomach suddenly started doing and headed down the hallway.

  “Right on time,” she greeted. “Come on in.”

  Gavin dropped his cell phone into a pocket and slipped his sunglasses onto his head as he stepped inside. “I would’ve been here earlier, but I got an unexpected visit from my dad. I finally had to kick him out.”

  “No worries. I overslept this morning and only finished packing about ten minutes ago. I haven’t even eaten breakfast yet. I thought we could grab something on the way.”

  She almost never overslept, but the night before what was supposed to be a quick visit with Callie and her family had turned into the opposite. Despite her plans to get home early and pack, she hadn’t walked through the door until well after two this morning.

  “Thanks to Dad, I never got around to it either, so I was going to suggest we stop at Café Sorell before we get on the road,” Gavin admitted. “Unless you prefer somewhere else.”

  “No, they have great pastries.” She tried to keep her eyes on his face, but this morning she was finding it quite the challenge. The man really belonged in some magazine advertising underwear instead of behind a desk.

  “Are you ready to go or do you need a few more minutes?” he asked, oblivious to her struggles.

  “Good to go. Do you want to drive or should I?”

  Most days she didn’t mind being behind the wheel for a long drive. This morning she’d much rather be in the passenger seat so she could keep her eyes focused on him instead of the road, but since she’d invited him along, it only seemed fair she offer to tackle the three-and-a-half-hour drive to Newport.

  Taking a step back toward the door, he shrugged. “You look tired. I don’t mind doing it.” He picked up the overnight bag she’d left on the floor. “Is this it?”

  She nodded. “I’ll meet you outside. I need to grab my purse.”

  Through the windshield she saw the cell phone glued to Gavin’s ear as she approached his car. Although the call could be a friendly one, she put her money on it having something to do with work. Perhaps this weekend she’d find a way for the device to go missing until it was time to head home. Really, any projects he had going on could take a vacation for two days.

  Whatever the call was about, he ended it as she opened the door.

  “Please tell me you weren’t discussing business.” Leah climbed into the air-conditioned vehicle, the leather cool against her bare legs.

  “No, just talking to a friend. They wanted to share some news with me.” He started the engine and drove down the long driveway.

  It didn’t go unnoticed that Gavin didn’t mention the friend’s name or give any hint whether it was a male or female friend. “Good news, I hope,” she inquired, her curiosity getting the better of her this morning.

  “Uh, yeah I guess.” Gavin turned left out of the driveway and proceeded down the street. “She got engaged last night.”

  “Engagements are usually good news.” Despite all the time she’d spent with Gavin, he’d only mentioned a handful of friends, and they’d all been male. “She must be a close friend if she called this morning to tell you.”

  Rather than immediately answer, he adjusted the air vent near the steering wheel. “I’ve known Amber a long time.”

  Knowing someone for years didn’t mean you had a close relationship with her. And although absolutely none of her business, she wanted to know just how close he and Amber were. “Does she live near you?”

  “Not anymore. She moved to Rhode Island about two years ago. She lives in Providence.”

  A burst of relief washed over her. If he had to have a close female friend, engaged or not, Leah preferred she wasn’t living right next door to him.

  You have no claim on him, she reminded herself. They were friends, nothing more. Whatever did or didn’t exist between him and other women didn’t affect her. Before she said something she’d later regret, she’d better change the subject.

  “Does your dad make surprise visits like he did today a lot?” Despite dating Harry for two and a half months, she’d only met Donald Kincaid once and it’d been a chance encounter at a restaurant.

  “Occasionally. He did it more when Harry was living with me. Dad’s always been closer to him than me.”

  She was 99 percent certain this was the first time since the afternoon she caught Harry with another woman that Gavin had mentioned his half brother. Come to think of it, he didn’t talk about his family much. Leah couldn’t help but wonder if her and Harry’s previous relationship was the reason behind it.

  “You’ve got the condo to yourself again?” She’d assumed Harry had left Gavin’s and moved into his new house by now. It’d been more than half completed when they broke up. But when it came to construction, setbacks happened all the time. When she’d had her own house remodeled, it took a month longer then planned.

  Gavin pulled into the parking lot of the nearby café. “Yes, thank God. Harry moved out the beginning of June. And if he hadn’t, I might have checked into a hotel until he did.” He turned off the engine and looked at her. “If he ever asks to stay with me again, I’ll barricade the door.”

  Whenever she’d been there, it had appeared as though they’d been coexisting peacefully despite their polar opposite personalities. Gavin’s comments told a different story. “It’s not always easy living with someone.”

  “Vivian, I could handle living with,” Gavin said as he reached for his door handle. “We’re a lot alike. I think the only thing Harry and I have in common is that we have the same father.”

  From what she’d seen, Leah agreed with Gavin’s assessment of him and his half brother. “I’ve only met Vivian once. Who is older, you or her?”

  He opened the café door and held it for her. “She is,” he answered, following her inside. “By ten minutes, and she never lets me forget it.”

  Leah chuckled. “Must be a twin thing. Derek loves to remind Allison he’s older too. It drives her crazy,” she explained, referring to her cousins. “Too bad Allison won’t be there today. The two of you could commiserate with each other.”

  She stopped in front of the display case. Everything from croissants and muffins to cinnamon rolls and breakfast sandwiches was on display.

  “Maybe some other time,” he replied.

  His comment had her looking away from the tasty treats and towar
d him. “You probably usually work on New Year’s Eve, but not this year, my friend. It might be months away, but I’m inviting you now to the New Year’s Eve party at Cliff House. Don’t worry, I’ll remind you a lot between now and then so you won’t forget. Allison will be there. She never misses it. The two of you can complain about how difficult it is to be the younger twin then.”

  New Year’s Eve was a little more than five months away. A lot could happen in five months. Regardless, she expected Gavin to still be a part of her life, and she wanted him to ring in the New Year with her.

  “I’ll put it on my calendar.” He turned toward the food on display. “Any ideas for breakfast?”

  She’d stopped in Café Sorell before and to date she’d never been disappointed with anything she picked. “I’m going with the cinnamon roll and a double espresso,” she answered, not bothering to look away from him.

  He always looked handsome, but this morning there was something different about him. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but since he walked though her front door, she’d been having trouble keeping her eyes off him—a fact she hoped he didn’t notice, because if he did it was going to be a long, awkward weekend.

  He approached the counter and smiled at the young woman behind it. On cue she smiled back, and it was impossible to miss the light pink hue spreading across her cheeks. “We’ll have two cinnamon rolls and two double espressos to go, please,” he said.

  With a nod the employee walked away. As she prepared their order, she threw countless looks Gavin’s way—looks he couldn’t have missed if Leah noticed them. Much like the night at the country club restaurant, she found herself grinding her teeth. If she kept reacting this way every time a member of the opposite sex looked his way this weekend, she was going to be in desperate need of a dentist Monday morning.

  ***

  Unlike Cliff House, which had been built by one of Leah’s ancestors in 1895 to resemble Alexander Palace in Russia and was currently owned by her Uncle Warren, her parents’ home in Newport didn’t look as if it belonged in a history book. After purchasing the property on Ocean Drive twenty years ago following a fire that destroyed most of the original structure, they’d torn down what was left and started over. It took them a couple years to design and build exactly what they wanted, but now a gorgeous 14,000 square foot home sat overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the size, it felt like a true home instead of museum, which was how Cliff House always felt to her.